I'm a teacher too.
All of these resources are simple and quick to download. They can be stored on a flashdrive, attached to a keyring and then they live in your pocket as easy and as ready to use as a hanky when a sneeze is coming on.
Try the Nonsense Rhymes Crosswords. If you like Dr Seuss, you'll love these (and so will your students). The World News Crossword is published every Sunday evening. It's prefect for prompting discussion about current events.
I'm a teacher too.
All of these resources are simple and quick to download. They can be stored on a flashdrive, attached to a keyring and then they live in your pocket as easy and as ready to use as a hanky when a sneeze is coming on.
Try the Nonsense Rhymes Crosswords. If you like Dr Seuss, you'll love these (and so will your students). The World News Crossword is published every Sunday evening. It's prefect for prompting discussion about current events.
The World News Crossword (June 4th, 2017) is a pdf document so it's quick and easy to download / save to a flash drive on your keyring. Then you have a simple and very worthwhile lesson activity in your pocket. Brilliant!!
The primary puzzle is a crossword based on last week's news events.
There are TWO more puzzles: one is all about Japan and the other is all about China.
Answers are included.
There's anther puzzle, taken from the Climate Change Crosswords booklet, also included.
The World News Crossword (June 11th 2017) is a simple crossword based on last week's news events.
This week there are TWO BONUS puzzles (Canada and Brazil).
These puzzles are engaging and interesting learning activities. The World News Crossword sparks students to discuss news events around the world. The UK election. The Qatar embargo. A Facebook post in Thailand and a documentary in Cambodia with similar consequences. China's One China Policy and now a One-Dog policy. Solar panels on the Mexico-US wall? Crowdfunding's a good idea - to start up a chocolate factory in New Zealand. Homo sapiens are at least 300,000 years old now, not the 200,000 previously thought, which is nowhere as old as the 115 million year old fossilised mushroom found in Brazil.
The News puzzle can be used with young or old students, individually or in small groups, in class or for homework. The three bonus puzzles can be used when substituting for absent colleagues or during rainy lunch times.
The World News Crossword - February 11th, 2018 is a simple pdf document so it's easy to download and easy to print (or save to a USB for later).
The World News Crossword is a crossword based on the events in last week's news. (And there are two more BONUS puzzles.)
Norway's Winter Olympic team's chefs ordered 13,500 too many eggs. (They could've made a HUGE pavlova cake.) Justin Trudeau got in trouble for suggesting peoplekind instead of mankind. Germany's police investigated a teenager being burnt at a witches' festival. Formula 1 announced it will replace its grid girls, with grid kids, (but is that better or worse?)
Paris' Eiffel Tower was closed because of snow. China's police started using sunglasses with cameras and face recognition software, to find criminals. An Indian woman accused her husband and brother in law of stealing her kidney.
It wasn't all silly though... last week police in Scotland were called to a farm where a tiger was reportedly on the loose. That was serious. Oh but it was a big fluffy toy tiger on the loose.
What happened in our world? August 29th, 2016 is a crossword based on last week's news events. It's a low-calorie, high-fibre, high-interest, and Donald Trump-free learning resource.
Three crosswords in one easy to download and print pdf document.
a. What happened in the world?
b. Name the countries.
c. The Olympics.
In this week's news crossword puzzle… a Czech lost in the New Zealand wilderness for a month, the earthquake in Italy, Stephen Harper announced his retirement from politics, A Japanese airline grounded its Dreamliner fleet, the All Blacks beat the Wallabies and many more...
These are simple crosswords aiming to encourage our students to ask about what's happening in their world - Why did it happen and where? And most importantly, who are the people affected?
There are TWO bonus crosswords. One asks students to identify the countries in which cities, mountains or other features are located. (Do you think they know where Mauritius is? Perhaps they'll ask to see it on a map. Perhaps they'll ask to go there in the next holiday.) And another crosswords on The Olympics. Who won the men's 1500m bronze medal (and how old was he)? What is the motto for the Olympics?
Use the crosswords in your home-room class, in subject lessons, in substitution lessons, in lunchtime or after school clubs, in the time-out room, or even in the staffroom (during a staff meeting if you dare).
And don't forget to come back next Sunday evening for more crosswords.
What happened in our world? September 11th, 2016 is a crossword based on last week's news events (and there are THREE more very useful puzzles attached).
This resource is a pdf document so it's quick to download and quick to print.
(Please note... when the resource is uploaded on Sunday it's priced at £2:00, but from Monday, it's discounted to £1:50. This is because of the site's minimum price and sale/discount feature. So wait until Monday morning before buying it.)
In this week's puzzle… A cat was rescued from the rubble in Amatrice. There was an earthquake in Tanzania and one in North Korea. North Korea's earthquake was triggered because of a nuclear bomb test. There were also floods in North Korea that destroyed thousands of homes. About a million and a half pilgrims began the Hajj. Thousands of people in Spain protested against bull-fighting. Tiger Woods announced he will return to competitive golf. And the paralympics began in Brazil.
This crossword is fairly simple because it's not about solving the puzzle - it's about getting students to think about and discuss the news events and the people affected by these events. Students could use their smartphones to look at the news and so they'll learn that iPhones are more than just social media gadgets. They'll hopefully ask about the news too, like why is North Korea testing nuclear weapons when thousands of people need help because of the floods? And why do companies recall phones and cars after they've been sold? How could 15 people in Bangladesh die in a factory fire? And why were 2000 chimpanzees moved out of research facilities to an animal refuge?
This week there are THREE bonus puzzles. They ask students to name the capital cities of countries. One for Asia, one for Europe, and one for Africa. (Why is Australia not there? Can the students find these countries and cities on a globe or a map? Your classroom does have a globe, right? Globes and world maps should be in all classrooms, not just Geography rooms, right?)
All of these puzzles can be used with a wide range of students, from middle to secondary school, and in a wide range of subjects. They're good for PSHE and homeroom situations, for Social Studies or English classes, for students with ADHD or handwriting issues, for students in a time-out situation, for homework... and for use with classes that substitute / supply teachers are supervising. Print them and have them ready for the emergency situations.
What happened in our world? September 25th, 2016 is a crossword based on last week's news events (and there are THREE MORE very useful puzzles attached). The answers are included.
This resource is a pdf document so it's quick to download and quick to print.
In this week's puzzle… A minivan fell from a mountain road in Pakistan and an oil tanker caught fire in the Gulf of Mexico. Ban Ki-Moon warned of the threat of microbial resistance. Sri Lanka court ruled that schools cannot impose a dress code on parents. A French hitch hiker threw a tantrum because he didn't get a ride. Someone counted North Korea's websites - there are just 28 of them. The world's oldest library reopened in Fez.
This crossword is fairly simple because it's not about solving the puzzle - it's about getting students to think about and discuss the news events and the people affected by these events. Students could use their smartphones to look at the news and so they'll learn that phones are more than just social media gadgets. They'll hopefully ask about the news too like why is there a war in Syria and why has the United Nations not stopped it? Why are refugees trying to get into Europe? And why was the world's oldest library reopened? Or maybe they'll ask why it was closed.
This week there are THREE bonus puzzles about countries, cities, and famous people.
All of these puzzles can be used with a wide range of students, from middle to secondary school, and in a wide range of subjects. They're good for PSHE and homeroom situations, for Social Studies or English classes, for students with ADHD or handwriting issues, for students in a time-out situation, for homework... and for use with classes that substitute / supply teachers are supervising. Print them and have them ready for the emergency situations.
(Note... when the resource is uploaded on Sunday it's priced at £2:00, but from Monday, it's discounted to £1:50. This is because of the site's minimum price and sale/discount feature. So wait until Monday morning before buying it.)
This is a simple crossword aiming to encourage students to ask about what's happening in their world.
Download and then print this simple and easy to use PDF and save time preparing for the next Economics, Geography, Business, or PSHE lesson. The puzzles are excellent for a lively and informative home room period or even a substitution lesson when the absent colleague hasn't left enough work. You save your precious time and the students get to learn about last week's news events.
The puzzles seem to work best when students work in pairs or groups of three, so they discuss the clues and therefore the events of their world. They work even better if the teacher does the puzzle with the students.
There's a BONUS puzzle that asks in which country or city a news event occurred.
What happened in our world? November 21st, 2016 is a crossword based on last week's news events.
Download and then print this simple and easy to use PDF and save time preparing for the next Economics or Geography or Business lesson, PSHE lesson, home room period, substitution lesson... You save your precious time and the students get to learn about last week's news events. The puzzles seem to work best when students work in pairs or groups of three, so they discuss the clues and therefore the events of their world. They work even better if the teacher does the puzzle with the students. Crosswords are effective practice activity for helping students with problematic handwriting.
In this week's puzzle… What did Boris say about prosecco? The Italian prime minister said he'll resign if... The German Chancellor said she will stand for re-election. A train derailed in Uttar Pradesh. A helicopter crashed in Rio de Janeiro. Andy beat Novak again. Slovakia declared access to clean drinking water a human right. A puggle was born in Sydney. (A what?) Two frozen moose were found in Alaska.
This is a simple crossword aiming to encourage students to ask about what's happening in their world. Why would moose freeze? Why would Russia leave the International Criminal Court? Why would we spend $11 billion on a weather satellite?
As a bonus, there are TWO more crosswords about well-known people such as Angela Merkel, Amelia Earhart, Florence Nightingale, and Cleopatra.
What happened in our world? November 14th, 2016 is a crossword based on last week's news events.
Use the crosswords in your home-room class, in subject lessons, in substitution lessons, in lunchtime or after school clubs, or even in the staffroom (during a staff meeting). See which department's teachers are the smartest.
In this week's puzzle… A massive earthquake hit New Zealand. Scuba divers rescued. Nimrud retaken by the Iraqi Army. The Germans remembered, the British remembered, and the French remembered. Some of the people detained on Manus Island will be relocated to the US.
This is a simple crossword aiming to encourage students to ask about what's happening in their world. What causes earthquakes? Why was there a second peace deal in Colombia? What was the story behind ISIS and Nimrud? Why have people been detained on Manus Island? Why were the Germans, the British, and the French all remembering last week?
As a bonus, there are TWO more crosswords. One asks students to identify countries' capitals and the other bonus puzzle asks students about well-known landmarks like the Great Wall of China, The Arc de Triomphe, and the Burj Khalifa.
What happened in our world? December 5th, 2016 is a crossword based on last week's news events.
Download and then print this simple and easy to use PDF and save time preparing for the next Economics or Geography or Business lesson, PSHE lesson, home room period, substitution lesson... You save your precious time and the students get to learn about last week's news events. The puzzles seem to work best when students work in pairs or groups of three, so they discuss the clues and therefore the events of their world. They work even better if the teacher does the puzzle with the students. Crosswords are effective practice activity for helping students with problematic handwriting.
In this week's puzzle… The Chinese shelved a plan for a new hydro dam. A copper mine in Poland collapsed. A plane crashed in South America. Nico Rosberg retired from Formula One racing and snow fell in Hawaii. The British and Polish prime ministers discussed Polish language lessons in British schools. South Korea's president offered to resign and Austria voted for a new president again. The Australians agreed to a backpacker tax and the Japanese police tried to get elderly drivers to exchange their driving licences for cheap lunches. Yes, it was a strange week around the world.
This is a simple crossword aiming to encourage students to ask about what's happening in their world. Why does a Yemeni man who was detained in Guantanamo Prison have to now live in Cape Verde? Why would a cruise liner discharge oily sludge into the ocean? And why did the Netherlands and Belgium agree to swap some land?
As a bonus, there's another crossword that asks students to identify some food. Perhaps they'll be inspired to eat healthier lunches after doing this crossword.Or perhaps they'll ask, 'What's strudel? What did Marie Antoinette have to do with cake? What food did the Earl of Sandwich name? And did Cinderella really go to the ball in a pumpkin?
There's a new puzzle created every week, so don't forget to come back every Monday morning for this simple and easy and very useful learning activity.
This is a simple crossword aiming to encourage students to ask about what's happening in their world.
Download and then print this simple and easy to use PDF and save time preparing for the next Economics, Geography, Business, or PSHE lesson. The puzzles are excellent for a lively and informative home room period or even a substitution lesson when the absent colleague hasn't left enough work. You save your precious time and the students get to learn about last week's news events. (You might even give them colleagues to keep them happy during staff meetings - but don't let the bosses catch you!)
In this week's puzzle... The US made a verbal move against North Korea, the South Korea made a move without her dogs, and Nato made a move to Estonia. In Australia, because someone dared him, an 18 year old jumped into a stream and was attacked by a crocodile. In New Zealand the police shot a bomb sniffer dog at Auckland airport. And in India, a firebrand Hindu priest was appointed to govern the most populous state.
And of course the real reason for these crosswords is to prompt the students to ask why... Why did Norway's Sami people get a large pension fund to sell off investments in a US company? Why did a Chinese court punish a policeman and why did the European Parliament punish that Policy MEP and why did France's far-right party expel one of its officials - and why did the Turkish president blame the Dutch for the 1985 Srebrenica massacre? (And was he right?)
The puzzles seem to work best when students work in pairs or groups of three, so they discuss the clues and therefore the events of their world. They work even better if the teacher does the puzzle with the students.
There are three BONUS puzzles that focus on North America, Central America, and South America.
This is a simple crossword activity aiming to encourage students to ask about what's happening in our world.
Download and then print this easy to use PDF and save time preparing for the next Economics, Geography, Business, or PSHE lesson. The puzzles are excellent for a lively and informative home room period or even a substitution lesson when the absent colleague hasn't left enough work. You save your precious time and the students get to learn about last week's news events. (You might even give them colleagues to keep them happy during staff meetings - but don't let the bosses catch you!)
In this week's puzzle... Obamacare survived. Somali pirates released a Sri Lankan ship and crew. An avalanche in Japan and a cyclone in Queensland. New Zealanders submitted a petition to protest against water being sold to China, India, and the Middle East. Britain was attacked by a lone terrorist. And Vladimir told Marine that Russia won't meddle in France's presidential election.
Of course the real value of this crossword is the discussion it'll generate... Why did these things happen? Why, of all the things that happened in the world, were these the events reported in the news? The wording of these news events is interesting too; is there any bias in the wording?
The puzzles seem to work best when students work in pairs or groups of three, so they discuss the clues and therefore the events of their world. They work even better if the teacher does the puzzle with the students.
There are two BONUS puzzles that focus on the United Kingdom's history and geography. Good for KS3 as well as older classes.
This is a simple crossword aiming to encourage students to ask about what's happening in their world.
Download and then print this simple and easy to use PDF and save time preparing for the next Economics, Geography, Business, or PSHE lesson. The puzzles are excellent for a lively and informative home room period or even a substitution lesson when the absent colleague hasn't left enough work. You save your precious time and the students get to learn about last week's news events.
In this week's puzzle... protest marches in Venezuela against economic failure and all around the world in support of science. No blue lights on cars in India, no food stalls on Bangkok streets and no dogs and cats to be eaten in Taiwan. Presidential elections in France and an early election in Britain. A national strike in French Guiana and a murder in the Maldives and very disrespectful behaviour at the tennis. And North Korea created a lot of news last week too. It was an interesting week.
The puzzles seem to work best when students work in pairs or groups of three, so they discuss the clues and therefore the events of their world. They work even better if the teacher does the puzzle with the students.
There are 2 BONUS puzzles: one is about Asia's countries and capitals and the other is about Africa.
What happened in our world? September 18th, 2016 is a crossword based on last week's news events (and there are THREE MORE very useful puzzles attached). The answers are included.
This resource is a pdf document so it's quick to download and quick to print.
(Note... when the resource is uploaded on Sunday it's priced at £2:00, but from Monday, it's discounted to £1:50. This is because of the site's minimum price and sale/discount feature. So wait until Monday morning before buying it.)
In this week's puzzle… The Global Fund raised almost 13 million dollars to eradicate AIDS, malaria and Tb while Pakistan began fortifying basic foods to combat malnutrition and Florida expanded its 'Zika zone'. David Cameron announced his resignation from politics, riots erupted in the DRC - protesting for early presidential elections, Nigeria's president admitted copying some of Barack Obama's speeches, and he also announced that his government would swap Boko Haram prisoners for the Chibok girls.
And... a man in Indiana posted dead skunks and raccoons to another man (it was something to do with basketball or football).
This crossword is fairly simple because it's not about solving the puzzle - it's about getting students to think about and discuss the news events and the people affected by these events. Students could use their smartphones to look at the news and so they'll learn that phones are more than just social media gadgets. They'll hopefully ask about the news too, like why is Norway planning to cull 2 million wolves? Why did Indian Kashmir police shoot and kill a twelve year old boy. And why were there violent protests in Bengaluru?
This week there are THREE bonus puzzles about countries, cities, and famous people.
All of these puzzles can be used with a wide range of students, from middle to secondary school, and in a wide range of subjects. They're good for PSHE and homeroom situations, for Social Studies or English classes, for students with ADHD or handwriting issues, for students in a time-out situation, for homework... and for use with classes that substitute / supply teachers are supervising. Print them and have them ready for the emergency situations.
The World News Crossword (September 17th, 2017) is a simple crossword based on last week's news events. There are THREE more FREE crosswords based on cities and countries around the world.
The World News Crossword (September 17th, 2017) is a great activity for supporting literacy, logic, and research skills. It quietly helps students with handwriting issues and it sneakily encourages students to learn more about their word and to discuss why...
Why?
Why did the UN impose more sanctions on North Korea? Why did Russia suggest UN peacekeepers for Crimea? Why are Australian landowners encouraging Australians to eat kangaroos? And why is Amsterdam's government wanting to discourage tourism? These are just some of the discussions that will pop out of this week's crossword.
Or maybe they'll ask where?
Where is Lahore? Sri Lanka? New Zealand? South Africa? Myanmar? North Korea? Paris? Barcelona? Crimea?
It's a pdf so it can be downloaded quickly, saved to a flash drive, opened and printed quickly for use at a moment's notice.
The World News Crossword - April 22nd, 2018 is a simple document containing a one page crossword based on last week’s news events. There are three bonus crosswords (Canada, China, and Australia).
The World News Crossword - April 22nd, 2018 can be used in Geography, English, SEN (excellent for concentration, logical thinking skills, research skills and handwriting), PSHE/homeroom, Economics, Business… and of course it’s a lot less about what happened and a lot more about the discussions that begin with ‘why…’ Why did China impose a tariff on US sorghum? Why are people protesting in Nicaragua? Why will KitKat lose its trademark protection in the EU? Why are 11,000 Vanuatau residents being evacuated from Ambae Island?
The solutions are included.
The World News Crossword - April 15th, 2018 is a simple crossword based on the events in last week’s news from around the world. We create a new puzzle every week so it can be built into a weekly PSHE, Geography, Economics, English, or Social Studies lesson. These crosswords have been used with significant success in with both GATE and SEN students. The puzzles can be used at all levels of high school and middle school, as homework activities or as in-class, small-group activities.
Each week there are three bonus puzzles. This week’s download includes two puzzles on climate change and a puzzle on the Amazon Basin. And of course, all the solutions are included.
What happened last week? The CEO of the world’s largest advertising agency resigned suddenly. An Australian company advertised for ‘Anglo-Saxon’ staff. A forest fire resulted in evacuations around Sydney. Two Indian athletes were sent home from the Commonwealth Games because needles were found in their accommodation. Indian police rescued 70 children who were working in a jewelry factory. A Russian-built military plane crashed in Algeria killing all passengers and crew. And the US, UK, and France attacked military installations in Syria in response to a chemical weapons attack by the Syrian government.
It’s less about what happened around the world and more about why. Why did the prime minister of Hungary get re-elected for a third term? Why did the US, UK and France attack Syria because of chemical weapons, but not because of ‘ordinary’ bombs? Why were 11 lions killed in a national park? Why did the New Zealand government announce that it will not issue any new permits to oil exploration companies? Why did the UK government deny entry to an Austrian and a Hungarian?
The World News Crossword - November 18th, 2018
4 crossword puzzles, downloaded as a PDF to print for your whole class.
A crossword based on the events of last week’s world news.
A crossword about Yemen which has featured in the news over the past few weeks,
A crossword about Great Britain which has also featured in the news over the past few weeks - Brexit!, and
A crossword about women political leaders around the world.
So, what were some of last week’s news events?
A bus caught fire in Zimbabwe and whole towns in California were destroyed by fire. Brazil’s new foreign minister thinks climate change is a Marxist conspiracy. Fish in the Amazon with plastic in them. EU politicians asked Amazon to stop selling products that glorified the USSR. Finland summoned the Russian ambassador to explain why Finland’s GPS was messed about with. A Norwegian navy frigate was sunk after it hit an oil tanker and a naval submarine that sank a year ago was found. Morocco inaugurated the fastest train service in Africa, from Casablanca to Tangiers. Scientists voted to change the way the kilogram is defined. New Zealand’s police discovered almost 200 kilograms of cocaine in a shipment of bananas, but that was small bananas compared to this: Iran’s government intercepted 6 tonnes of heroin being shipped to Europe. And finally - Britain said it would ‘urge’ the UN Security Council to initiate a truce in the Yemen war.
A lot happened in the world last week. Some of it was important and some of it was just silly. Most of it is worth knowing about. I hope this week's crossword prompts discussions that start with 'Why...'
The US president went to Belgium and ate lots of chocolates and the Belgian royal family disapproved of a Burger King advertisement.
Diesel cars are still being sold despite emitting 18 times the legal level of pollution. So much for the Paris Agreement on climate change, speaking of which, more than 90 people were killed and over a hundred more are missing in Sri Lanka after huge rainfall caused flooding and landslides. In Sicily the US First Lady wore a coat that retails for more than $50,000. More than 150 children under 5 die every day in Myanmar because of fighting and poverty.
Sailing in the America's Cup began and Arsenal won the FA Cup.
In Australia a teenager ran across the horse racing track because someone dared him. Also in Australia, a Jetstar plane revved up ready for taxiing while a ground crew member was still attached to the plane's nose, but in London, BA cancelled all flights because their computer system crashed.
Construction work began on a huge telescope in Chile and a Brazilian mother who stole an Easter egg for her kids was given a harsher prison sentence than the politicians who stole millions of dollars of public money.
This week there are THREE bonus puzzles - Climate change, European countries, US states...
It's a pdf document. It's quick and easy to download / save to a flash drive on your keyring. Then you have a simple and very worthwhile lesson activity in your pocket. Brilliant!!
Where on Earth? Crosswords #2 is a simple resource for use with students - from young to old.
Crosswords are a simple task that help to promote neat handwriting, thinking skills, and in the case of these puzzles, world geographical knowledge. There’s something about crosswords thought that makes students need to finish them.
What's the capital of Canada? And South Africa? South Korea? Australia? IN which country is New Orleans? Dubrovnik? Sofia? Cairo? Tunis?
Did you say Dubrovnik? That's where Game of Thrones and Robin Hood were filmed. It's beautiful there and just a short drive south is Montenegro (change your clock when you cross the border) with a beautiful little sea town called Kotor. Then it's Albania and then it's Greece and a short boat trip from there is Istanbul. Wow!!
These puzzles are handy to have pre-printed in the bag ready for an unexpected substitution lesson. Put the kids into groups because people are all a little tribal, and have them compete. ‘Which team will win?’ is all you have to say. They’ll work furiously, with or without their smartphones, to compete and win - and in the process they’ll learn more about the world around them.